1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to agricultural machinery and particularly that employed in the harvesting of crops such as peanuts in which a combine is moved over the ground, picking up the crop and separating the marketable portion from the vines and other extraneous material. The invention is particularly directed to the means for selectively driving the pickup mechanism.
2. Summary of the Invention
In peanut combines of the general type such as shown in the Long U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,467, there is a pickup reel which picks up the vines and feeds them into the machine for separation of the peanuts from the vines and foreign matter. The combine has moving parts, including a pickup reel, threshing cylinders, and movable separating devices, including racks, pans and one or more fans. The device is ordinarily towed behind a tractor whose takeoff shaft provides power for operation of the various elements.
The combine is ordinarily towed through the field at a speed of approximately two to four miles per hour. It is desirable, in accordance with the present invention, to provide for the driving of the pickup reel directly from the running support wheel of the combine in order that the speed of the pickup reel may be in proportion to the speed of the combine's forward motion, and to provide for this drive primarily from the wheel instead of from the tractor pto. This causes the pickup to operate more rapidly when the combine is being moved at moderate or relatively rapid speeds and insures that it will operate at a minimum speed even if the forward motion is substantially decreased or stopped, as for example, when making turns or moving over uneven ground.
A further feature of the invention is the provision of a simple manual control accessible to the driver by means of which the ground drive may be disengaged for transport purposes, the operator also being able to control the auxiliary power means such as the power takeoff.
A still further feature of the invention is the provision of a releasable driving engagement or clutch for the pickup which permits stalling of the pickup without damage to the pickup or the drive train thereto.